Seven Christian Virtues

THE Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) defines virtue as “a habitual and firm disposition to do good”. This allows every Christian to do good actions and to bring out the best in oneself. Jesus said, “He who wants to be first should be last.” Then, humility is a virtue. Saint Thomas Aquinas on his “Summa Theologae” emphasized the four virtues common known as prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

Prudence helps every human being to judge and distinguish correctly what is right and what is wrong.
Justice allows us to give the rightful due to everyone.
Fortitude fires us up to overcome our fears which weaken our emotion and to be reasonably steady when facing hardships in life.
Temperance enables and moderates every Christian’s attraction to pleasures, desires, motives and passions.

The second three are called the theological virtues. These are faith, hope and love.

Faith opens the senses of every Christian believer to firmly believe in God, in His revelation, and in His teachings of the Church.
Hope motivates us to await and trust to the promises of Jesus Christ and to rely on the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Love is the greatest among the three virtues. It enables us to selfless, unconditional, and voluntary giving of oneself.

These seven Christian virtues go hand in hand. The Cardinal and Theological virtues are our effective guide in living the way Christ lived. These lead us into the fullness of the law, that is loving God above all and loving our neighbors as our own. (Edgardo R. Sara | Kiblawan)